Alexus Fuller
CRN: 21556
English 1101
March 6, 2016
Women Then and Now
“Lucy I’m home,” the famous saying from the famous 1950s sitcom, “I Love Lucy” fully distinguished a vast difference between women in sitcoms then and now. Women in the 1950s held on to the traditional, stereotypical housewife title, one who only tended to their husband children and household duties. Women in contemporary sitcoms, however, did not hold on to those traditional values that were viewed in the 1950s. For example Being Mary Jane is about a hard working single black women going through everyday life, without those traditional values. Status, parenting, and conservativeness are the foremost leading differences from women in the 1950s and women in contemporary sitcoms.
Status is the position somebody holds in society. Women in the 1950s held a lower more respectable status than women in today’s sitcoms. For example, Lucy was very respectful of her husband, and his wishes. Women then did not typically talk back, became physical, or dressed inappropriately. Women in today’s sitcoms, however, were the exact opposites. In today’s sitcoms, women were drug addicts, exotic dancers or workaholics. Women also tend to be very emotionally abusive to their families. For example, a powerful African-American woman on Mary Jane in chastised her sister about having two kids and having another.
Women in the 1950s sitcom were typically stay-at- home moms who did not work. Their parenting skills differed from women in today’s sitcoms. Both women were concerned about the well-being of their children but approached them differently. Women in 1950s were more gentle, compromising, and less harsh than women today. Women today displayed more of a “tough love” considering the fact they were raising their children on their own. They believed in punishing their children and being sterner with them.
Throughout society, there has been a drastic change in women conservativeness. Women in the 1950s were more conservative than women today. Women in the 1950s did not walk around in lingerie, or lay bed as the actors they performed with. Women in today’s sitcoms walked around in lingerie and lay in the same bed as their husbands. All women then wore the knee-length dresses with aprons, and a headband, As opposed to women in today’s sitcoms who wore whatever they wanted.
Sitcoms are used for entertainment and also teaching. There is much to be learned from women from the past to present, through status parenting, and conservativeness. Through these differences and similarities much can be observed and interpreted.